Methods Of Operating Computer System With Data Availability Management Software

ABSTRACT

According to some embodiments, a method includes running a first application program on a computer system, running a second application program on the computer system, and running a data availability manager (DAM) program on the computer system. The first application program is operative to indicate to the DAM program that a first data item processed by the first application program is available for further processing. The DAM program is operative to determine a second data item that is dependent for processing upon availability of the first data item and to indicate to the second application program that the second data item is ready for processing.

FIELD

The present invention relates to computer systems. In some embodiments,the present invention relates to methods for coordinating operation ofvarious application programs that execute on a computer system.

BACKGROUND

It is well known to operate a number of different application softwareprograms in the same computer system. In some cases, operations of thevarious application programs may be dependent on data or other outputsof one or more other application programs that operate on the samecomputer system. In such cases, it may be necessary or desirable foroperation of at least some of the application programs to becoordinated.

One computer program that is used to coordinate operation of differentapplications on a computer system is known as “Unicenter AutoSys JobManagement” and is published by Computer Associates International, Inc.,Islandia, N.Y. This program, commonly referred to as “AutoSys”, managesjobs and schedules within the computer system and controls individualapplications to begin jobs when prerequisite jobs are complete. However,the type of scheduling performed by AutoSys may not result in timely andefficient completion of jobs in some cases.

SUMMARY

In light of the foregoing, embodiments of the present invention concerna method of operating a computer system to run a first applicationprogram on the computer system, to run a second application program onthe computer system, and to run a data availability manager (DAM)program on the computer system. The first application program isoperative to indicate to the DAM program that a first data itemprocessed by the first application program is available for furtherprocessing. The DAM program is operative to determine a second data itemthat is dependent for processing upon availability of the first dataitem and to indicate to the second application program that the seconddata item is ready for processing.

In some aspects, the second application program may be operative torequest the DAM program to report a status of the second data item andthe DAM program may indicate to the second application program, inresponse to the request, that the second data item is ready forprocessing. In other aspects, the DAM program may indicate a status ofthe second data item as ready for processing by publishing anotification with respect to the second data item, and the secondapplication program may subscribe to the notification.

In some aspects, the second data item may consist of a report ofsecurities holdings for a single client account. The first applicationprogram may be for loading data into a database, and the secondapplication program may be for generating a report from informationstored in the database.

In another aspect, a method of operating a computer system is providedto receive a request from a first application program regarding a firstdata item, to determine that the first data item is dependent on asecond data item, a third data item and a fourth data item, and toreceive an indication from a second application program that the seconddata item is available for processing, to receive an indication from athird application program that the third data item is available forprocessing, and to receive an indication from a fourth applicationprogram that the fourth data item is available for processing, with thefirst, second, third and fourth application programs all being differentfrom each other. After receiving the indications from the second, thirdand fourth application programs, the method responds to the request byindicating to the first application program that the first data item isready for processing.

In some aspects, the determination that the first data item is dependenton the second, third and fourth data items may include accessing mappingdata that indicates items upon which the first data item is dependent.

In still another aspect, a method of operating a computer system isprovided to change a status of a data item from unavailable toavailable, to generate, in response to the change of status, a reportthat requires availability of the data item, to change the status of thedata item from available to unavailable, to again change the status ofthe data item from unavailable to available, and to again generate thereport, in response to the second change of status of the data item fromunavailable to available.

In still another aspect, a method of operating a computer system isprovided to receive an indication that a first data item is availablefor processing, to determine a second data item that is dependent forprocessing upon availability of the first data item, and to change thestatus of the second data item from unavailable to ready for processing.

In still another aspect, a method of operating a computer system isprovided to change a status of a first data item from unavailable toready for processing each time either one of two conditions issatisfied. A first one of the conditions is that every data item uponwhich the first data item depends is available for processing. A secondone of the conditions is that a time deadline has expired.

As used herein and in the appended claims, “data item” refers to anypiece or element of data, data set, data structure and/or report thatmay be generated or provided by an application program.

Thus, in some aspects, processing of a job by one application may bestarted as soon as the data required from other applications is ready,and without waiting for completion of jobs by the other applications.Consequently, processing of jobs such as production of reports forclient brokerage accounts may be completed in a timely manner.

With these and other advantages and features of the invention that willbecome hereinafter apparent, the invention may be more clearlyunderstood by reference to the following detailed description of theinvention, the appended claims, and the drawings attached hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system according to someembodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one or more server computers that may bepart of the computer system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates in block diagram form software programs that may beexecuted in the computer system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a dependency rule relationship amongdata items that may be processed by application programs in the computersystem of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram that illustrates one example of interaction among adata available manager (DAM) program and application programs in thecomputer system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart that illustrates a process that may be performedby the DAM program.

FIG. 6A shows a portion of an example report that may be generated bythe computer system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart that illustrates an alternative process that maybe performed by the DAM program.

FIG. 8 is a diagram that illustrates relationships among databaseentities employed in connection with the DAM program.

FIG. 9 illustrates another example of a dependency rule relationshipamong data items that may be processed by application programs in thecomputer system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 illustrates still another example of a dependency rulerelationship among data items that may be processed by applicationprograms in the computer system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a dependency mapping among data itemsthat may be processed by application programs in the computer system ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 12 illustrates yet another example of a dependency rulerelationship among data items that may be processed by applicationprograms in the computer system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of another dependency mapping among dataitems that may be processed by application programs in the computersystem of FIG. 1.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart that illustrates a process that may be performedby the DAM program.

FIG. 15, taken with FIG. 9, illustrates an alternate version of adependency rule relationship.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart that illustrates a process that may be performedby the DAM program.

FIG. 17 is a diagram that illustrates potential sequences of statuschanges for a data item in connection with the DAM program.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general, and for the purposes of introducing concepts of embodimentsof the present invention, a data availability manager (DAM) programoperates on a computer system to inform application programs executingon the system when data items needed by the application programs areready for processing by the application programs. As a result, theapplication programs may commence processing particular tasksimmediately upon the necessary data becoming available. The DAM programmay be employed in a computer system that is operated by a securitiestrading broker that serves institutional traders. The DAM program mayfacilitate timely generation of reports. For example, a report on thesecurities holdings in a particular client account may be generated by areporting application as soon as the data required for the report isproduced by another application or applications, and before the otherapplications have completed processing jobs in which the needed data wasproduced.

Features of some embodiments of the present invention will now bedescribed by first referring to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of acomputer system 100 according to some embodiments of the invention. Thecomputer system 100 includes one or more server computers 102, and anumber of user computers 104. Further, the computer system 100 mayinclude one or more printers (indicated at 106) and a data communicationnetwork 108 to which the other system components are connected (at leastfrom time to time). The data communication network 108 may permit datacommunication among the other components of the computer system 100. Forexample, users of the system may operate user computers 104 to requestinformation via the data communication network 108 from the servercomputers 102.

The computer system 100, in its hardware aspects, may be largely orentirely conventional. For example, conventional server computerhardware may be used in constituting the server computers 102. Moreover,the user computers 104 may all be conventional desktop or notebookcomputers. Software aspects of the server computers 102 will bedescribed in more detail below.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2, where an embodiment of at least one ofthe servers 102 is shown. As depicted, server 102 includes a computerprocessor 200 operatively coupled to a communication device 202 andstorage device 204.

Processor 200 may be constituted by one or more conventional processors,and may, for example, comprise RISC-based and other types of processors.Processor 200 operates to execute processor-executable process steps soas to control the elements of the server 102 to provide desiredfunctionality.

Communication device 202 may be used to communicate, for example, withother devices (such as other servers 102, user computers 104 orprinter(s) 106). Communication device 202 is therefore preferablyconfigured with hardware suitable to physically interface with desiredexternal devices and/or network connections. For example, communicationdevice 202 may comprise an Ethernet connection to a local area networkthrough which server 102 may receive and transmit information.

Storage device 204 may comprise any appropriate information storagedevice, including combinations of magnetic storage devices (e.g.,magnetic tape and hard disk drives) optical storage devices such as CDsand/or DVDs, and/or semiconductor memory devices such as Random AccessMemory (RAM) devices and Read Only Memory (ROM) devices.

Storage device 204 stores one or more programs 206 for controllingprocessor 200. The programs 206 comprise processor-executable processsteps of server 102, and may include process steps that constituteprocesses provided in accordance with principles of the presentinvention to implement one or more application programs and/or a DAMprogram as described below. Processor 206 performs instructions ofprograms 206, and thereby may operate in accordance with the presentinvention. In some embodiments, programs 206 may be configured, at leastin part, as a neural network or other type of program using techniquesknown to those skilled in the art to achieve the functionality describedherein. Among the functions implemented via the programs 206 may be hostserver functions.

Any or all process steps of server 102 may be read from acomputer-readable medium, such as a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, aZip™ disk, a magnetic tape, or a signal encoding the process steps, andthen stored in storage device 204 in a compressed, uncompiled and/orencrypted format. Processor-executable process steps being executed byprocessor 200 may typically be stored temporarily in RAM (not separatelyshown) and executed therefrom by processor 200. In alternativeembodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of, or incombination with, processor-executable process steps for implementationof processes according to embodiments of the present invention. Thus,embodiments of the present invention are not limited to any specificcombination of hardware and software.

Storage device 204 may also store databases 208, including, for example,data that may be generated by and/or accessed by one or more of theapplication programs that execute on the server 102 or on anothercomponent of the computer system 100. For example, the databases 208 maystore data regarding securities trading activities, client securitiespositions, and securities pricing information. Other databases may alsobe provided.

There may also be stored in storage device 204 other unshown elementsthat may be necessary for operation of server 102, such as an operatingsystem, a database management system, other applications, other datafiles, and “device drivers” for allowing processor 200 to interface withdevices in communication with communication device 202. These elementsare known to those skilled in the art, and are therefore not describedin detail herein.

The server 102 may also include one or more input devices 210 incommunication with the processor 200 and one or more output devices 212in communication with the processor 200. The input device(s) 210 and theoutput device(s) 212 may permit a system administrator or other user toprovide input to the processor 200 or to receive output from theprocessor 200.

FIG. 3 illustrates in block diagram form software programs that may beexecuted in the computer system 100. For example, the software programs,or a subset of them, may execute on one or more of the servers 102. Thesoftware programs illustrated in FIG. 3 include a number of applicationprograms 302. In some embodiments, one or more of the applicationprograms 302 may operate to collect data related to securities tradingactivities. One or more of the application programs 302 may collect datarelated to securities positions held by clients of a firm that operatesthe computer system 100. One or more of the application programs 302 maygenerate reports relating to securities trading activities and/orsecurities positions. The number of applications programs 302 that runon the computer system 302 may be four or greater.

The software programs also include a processing engine 304 for a DAMprogram. As will be seen, the DAM program may act as a clearinghouse forinformation as to which data items generated or to be generated by theapplication programs 302 are ready for processing by other ones of theapplication programs 302. Message service software 306 (e.g., the“Enterprise Message Service” software package available from TibcoSoftware, Palo Alto, Calif.) allows for exchanging of messages betweenthe DAM processing engine 304 and the application programs 302 and amongthe application programs 302. A data store 308 is associated with theDAM processing engine 304 to store data used by the DAM processingengine 304 in performing its data availability clearinghouse functions.In some embodiments, the DAM data store 308 may be implemented by usinga conventional data base manager such as Sybase. One or more of theapplication programs 302 may run on the same server 102 with the DAMprocessing engine 306 and/or on another server or servers 102. Exceptfor their interactions with the DAM program, as described below, theapplication programs 302 may operate in accordance with conventionalpractices, in some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a dependency rule relationship amongdata items that may be processed by application programs in the computersystem 100. According to the rule illustrated in FIG. 4, a data item 402(e.g., a report) to be generated by a first application program cannotbe generated until a data item 404 generated or to be generated by asecond application program, a data item 406 generated or to be generatedby a third application program, and a data item 408 generated or to begenerated by a fourth application program are all available forprocessing by the first application program. It may be said that thedata item 402 is “dependent” on data items 404, 406 and 408, that dataitems 404, 406 and 408 are “parents” of data item 402, and that dataitem 402 is a “child” of data items 404, 406 and 408. Data that reflectsthe dependency rule relationship illustrated in FIG. 4 may be input intothe computer system 102 during a set-up mode of the DAM program andstored in the DAM data store 308.

Each data item shown in FIG. 4 may, but need not, be the only kind ofdata item generated or provided by the corresponding applicationprogram.

In at least some cases, examples given below in regard to operation of aDAM program and interactions between a DAM program and applicationprograms will be presented in the context of a computer system that maybe operated by a securities trading broker that serves institutionalinvestors. However, the invention may also be applied in other contexts.

FIG. 5 is a diagram that illustrates one example of interaction among adata availability manager (DAM) program (indicated at 502 in FIG. 5) andapplication programs 302 in the computer system 100. Application program302-1, which is the application to generate data item 402 (FIG. 4) maybe a program for generating aggregated securities position reports, andthe particular data item instance involved may be the aggregatedposition report for a particular client as of a particular date.Application program 302-2 (FIG. 5), which is the application to generatedata item 404 (FIG. 4), may be a program which collects, stores andmaintains information regarding securities positions for the clients ofa brokerage firm that operates the computer system 100. Applicationprogram 302-3 (FIG. 5), which is the application to generate data item406 (FIG. 4), may be an application that combines data from varioussources into a single report. Application program 302-4 (FIG. 5), whichis the application to provide data item 408 (FIG. 4), may be a programwhich receives and stores security price information provided by asecurities market information feed (not shown).

A data store 504-2 is a associated with application program 302-2 tostore and make available for access data generated/provided byapplication program 302-2. A data store 504-3 is a associated withapplication program 302-3 to store and make available for access datagenerated/provided by application program 302-3. A data store 504-4 is aassociated with application program 302-4 to store and make availablefor access data generated/provided by application program 302-4.

When application 302-2 has generated the position data for a particularclient for a particular date, it provides input to the DAM program 502such that the status indication 506-2 as to the position data (dataitem) for the client and date indicates that the data item is available.When application 302-3 has generated the contractual data for aparticular client for a particular date, the application program 302-3provides input to the DAM program 502 such that the status indication506-3 as to the contractual data (data item) for the client and dateindicates that the data item is available. When application 302-4 hasthe securities pricing data for a particular date, the applicationprogram 302-4 provides input to the DAM program 502 such that the statusindication 506-4 as to the pricing data (data item) for the dateindicates that the data item is available. When the three statusindications for a particular client and date are all indicated asavailable, the DAM program 502 may make the status indication for theaggregation report data item for the client and date indicate that thereport data item is “runnable”, i.e. ready for processing by theapplication program 302-1. An indication to this effect is provided fromthe DAM program 502 to the application program 302-1, so that theapplication program 302-1 is informed that all the data it needs for thereport for the particular client and date is available. The applicationprogram 302-1 then accesses the data stores 504-2, 504-3 and 504-4 topull the data for the report, and the application program 302-1generates the report (indicated at 508) for the particular client anddate. In addition, the application program 302-1 provides to the DAMprogram 502 input so that the DAM program can set the status indication506-1 to “available” for use in generating any data item that isdependent on the report.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart that illustrates a process that may be performedby the DAM program 502. Indicated at 602 in FIG. 6 is a startingcondition for the process of FIG. 6, the condition being that the DAMprogram 502 and the application programs 302-1, 302-2, 302-3 and 302-4are being run on the computer system 100 (e.g., on one or more of theconstituent servers 102 of the computer system 100). At 604, the DAMprogram 502 receives from the application program 302-1 a dataavailability request which pertains to a particular data item to begenerated by the application program 302-1. In effect, by the dataavailability request, the application program 302-1 inquires of the DAMprogram 502 as to whether the parent data items for the data item to begenerated by the application program 302-1 are all available forprocessing by the application program 302-1. For purposes ofillustration, it may be assumed that the data item to be generated byapplication program 302-1 is a report, as of a particular point in time,of the securities holdings of a particular client of a securitiesbrokerage firm that operates the computer system 100. Relevantparameters, which may be indicated in the data availability request, mayinclude a client identifier (e.g., client name) which identifies theclient, and the date as of which the report is to be made.

At 606, the DAM program 502 determines which are the required parentdata items upon which the requested data item depends. For example, theDAM program 502 may refer to a dependency rule for the requested type ofdata item, such as the rule illustrated in FIG. 4. From such a rule, theDAM program may determine the types of the required parent data items,and the DAM program may parameterize the parent data item types withparameters specified (e.g., client identifier and/or date) specified inthe data availability request. The resulting data items are the parentdata items for the data item specified in the data item request. In theexample referred to above, the parent data items may be (a) positiondata for the client and date in question, provided or to be provided byapplication program 302-2; (b) contractual data for the client and datein question, provided or to be provided by application program 302-3;and (c) price data for the date in question, provided or to be providedby application program 302-4.

As indicated at 608, at some point in time before or after the DAMprogram 502 receives the data availability request, the DAM program 502receives from the application programs 302-2, 302-3 and 302-4indications that the respective parent data items are ready forprocessing (i.e., “available”). This occurs after the respectiveapplication program completes whatever processing is required togenerate or make available the particular parent data item in question.As indicated at 610, once all of the parent data items are available,the DAM program 502 changes the status of the requested data item from“unavailable” to “runnable” (i.e., ready for processing). This may occurimmediately after receiving the data availability request, if all of theparent data items had already been indicated by the respectiveapplication programs to be available. Alternatively, this may occur oncethe last of the parent data items to become available is indicated asavailable by the respective application program. In any case, afterchanging the status of the requested data item to “runnable”, and asindicated at 612 in FIG. 6, the DAM program 502 may then provide anindication (for example, a message) to application program 302-1 thatthe requested data item is ready for processing by the applicationprogram. In actions that are not indicated in FIG. 6 (since notperformed by the DAM program), application program 302-1 may then accessdata stores 504-2, 504-3 and 504-4 to access data itemsgenerated/provided by the application programs 302-2, 302-3, 302-4 sothat the application program 302-1 can generate the report in question.FIG. 6A illustrates a portion of an example of such a report.

When the application program 302-1 has completed generation of thereport, it provides an indication to the DAM program 502 that the dataitem (the report) is now “available”. Block 614 in FIG. 6 represents theDAM program 502 receiving this indication from application program302-1. At 616, DAM program 502 responds to the indication fromapplication program 302-1 by changing the status of the report data itemfrom “runnable” to “available”. At 618, DAM program 502 determineswhether there are any child data items of the report data item, and ifso, as to whether the status of any such child data items should now bechanged to “runnable” in view of the availability of the report dataitem. If so, DAM program 502 will so change the status of the child dataitem(s) and provide indication(s) of the changed status to a respectiveapplication program or programs.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart that shows an alternative example of a processthat may be performed by the DAM program.

At 702, as a condition to the process, the DAM program and two or moreapplication programs are being run on the computer system 100. At 704,the DAM program receives from one of the application programs anindication that a data item generated/provided by the applicationprogram is available (i.e., that the application program has completedprocessing of the data item). As indicated at 706, in response to theindication from the application program, the DAM program changes to“available” the status of the data item in question. At 708, the DAMprogram determines what, if any, child data items there are with respectto the data item that has just become available. A decision 710 is madewith respect to each of the child data items as to whether the childdata item can now be indicated as “runnable”. That is, with respect toeach child data item, the DAM program determines whether all of theparent data items of the child data item have the status “available”.For each child data item with respect to which this condition issatisfied, the DAM program changes the status of the child data item inquestion to “runnable” (712 in FIG. 7) and then publishes 714 (via asuitable facility of the computer system 100) the updated status of thechild data item. With this arrangement, instead of the applicationprograms submitting data availability requests to the DAM program, theapplication programs may subscribe to the indications published by theDAM program and/or may poll the publishing facility to be informed ofthe runnability of data items to be generated/provided by theapplication programs.

FIG. 8 is a diagram that illustrates relationships among databaseentities that may be employed in connection with the DAM program. Eachof the database entities shown in FIG. 8 may be constituted by a tablestored in a database in the DAM data store 308 (FIG. 3).

Referring to FIG. 8, reference numeral 802 indicates a data itemdatabase entity. The data item database entity may include a data itemidentifier that uniquely identifies the data item, an identifier thatidentifies the application program that generates/provides the dataitem, and an identifier that identifies the type of the data item.

Reference numeral 804 indicates an ID control database entity which isused to create unique identifiers for the data item.

Reference numeral 806 indicates a data item type database entity whichis used to store the type of the data item if the type has a name thatis too long to store in the data item database entity 802.

Reference numeral 808 indicates a data item dependency database entitywhich lists the specific data items that are parents of the data itemrepresented by data item database entity 802.

Reference numeral 810 indicates a data item type dependency ruledatabase entity which indicates dependency rule relationships (see,e.g., FIG. 4) which are applicable to data items of the type whichapplies to the data item represented by data item database entity 802.

Reference numeral 812 indicates a data item type dependency map databaseentity which represents mappings, relevant to the data item representedby data item database entity 802, between data item instances ofdifferent types. For example, as illustrated below, these mappings mayrepresent “belongs-to” relationships between specific data iteminstances, such as “Account 1234 belongs to Client Group ABC”, or“Client Group ABC belongs to Client XYZ”.

Reference numeral 814 indicates a data item status database entity whichstores the current status (e.g., unavailable, runnable or available,etc.) of the data item represented by data item database entity 802.

Reference numeral 816 indicates a data wait-until time database entitythat may indicate a “wait-until time” that may be applicable to the dataitem represented by the data item database entity 802. As will bediscussed further below, the “wait-until time” may be a deadline uponwhich the data item is given the status “wait-runnable” so that the dataitem may be processed by its application program even if not all of theparent data items are currently available. Not every data itemnecessarily has a wait-until time. That is, some data items may neverbecome wait-runnable, and will be processed only if all parent dataitems become available.

Reference numeral 818 indicates a data item dependency version databaseentity. As discussed further below, a dependency version may be used byan application program to select from among different dependency rulesthat may be applicable from time to time to a particular data item.

FIG. 9 illustrates another example of a dependency rule relationshipamong data items that may be processed by application programs in thecomputer system 100. According to the dependency rule indicated by FIG.9, an aggregated position report data item 902 for a particular clientgroup has two parent data items, namely the position data data item 904for the group in question and a price data item 906. The latter dataitem is of the “reference” type since it has applicability over avariety of specific instances of the child data items. It will be notedthat the data items 902 and 904 are both of the same type (both“group”).

FIG. 10 illustrates still another example of a dependency rulerelationship among data items that may be processed by applicationprograms in the computer system 100. According to the dependency ruleindicated by FIG. 10, an aggregated position report data item 1002 isthe parent of two child data items, namely an aggregated activity dataitem 1004 and an activity reconciliation data item 1006. Note thatparent data item 1002 is of a different type (“account”) from both childdata item 1004 (type=“group”) and child data item 1006 (type=“client”).Consequently, a further dependency mapping relationship among particulardata item type instances will be needed to provide the completedependency relationship between data item 1004 or data item 1006 andtheir parent data item. For example, such a dependency mapping mayreflect “belongs-to” relationships among the particular data iteminstances. FIG. 11 illustrates an example of dependency mappingrelationships. Thus, account no. 1234 (reference numeral 1102) has abelongs-to relationship to each of the group named “ABC-Offshore”(reference numeral 1104) and to the client named “ABC Investments”(reference numeral 1106). Account no. 3579 (reference numeral 1108) hasa belongs-to relationship to each of the group named “ABC-Offshore”(1104) and the client named “ABC Investments” (1106). Account no. 5678(reference numeral 1110) has a belongs-to relationship to each of thegroup named “ABC-Domestic” (reference numeral 1112) and the client named“ABC Investments” (1106).

Continuing with the examples illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, anaggregated activity data item (1004, FIG. 10) instance for the groupnamed “ABC-Offshore” is dependent on two instances of the activity dataitem 1002, namely the instances for account nos. 1234 and 3579.

A “type override” feature that may be implemented in connection withsome embodiments of the DAM program will now be described with referenceto FIGS. 12-14. FIG. 12 illustrates an example dependency rule that willbe used to explain the type override feature, and FIG. 13 illustrates anexample dependency mapping that will be used to explain the typeoverride feature. As seen from FIG. 12, in this example a positionreport data item 1202 (having the type “group”) is dependent on anaggregated position data item 1204 (also having the type “group”). It isnoted that both the data items 1202 and 1204 are of the same type, sothat ordinarily an instance for a particular group of the data item 1202would have as its parent the instance for the same group of the dataitem 1204. In the dependency mapping relationships illustrated in FIG.13, both the group named “ABC-Offshore” and the group named“ABC-Domestic” have a belongs-to relationship to a master group (alsoknown as a group-of-groups) named “ABC-Global”.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart that illustrates a process to implement the typeoverride feature. At 1402, the DAM program receives from an applicationprogram a data availability request. It will be assumed for purposes ofthis example that the data availability request concerns an instance ofthe position report data item 1202. Then, at 1404, the DAM programdetermines whether the data availability request invoked the typeoverride feature (by e.g., setting a “type override” flag). If the typeoverride feature is not invoked, then, as indicated at 1406, the DAMprogram determines the parent data item or items of the requested dataitem by referring to the dependency rule for the requested data item.(It is assumed in this case that the dependency rule indicates that onlydata items of the same type as the requested data item are parents ofthe requested data item.) It may be assumed in such a case that the dataavailability request received in this case is for an instance thatcorresponds to a group, say the group named “ABC-Offshore”.Consequently, following the dependency rule of FIG. 12, the parent forthe requested data item is the instance of the aggregated position dataitem which corresponds to the group named “ABC-Offshore”.

However, considering again the determination made at 1404, now assumethat the type override feature was invoked by the data availabilityrequest. In such a case, the data item instance requested is for a typeother than its usual type. In this instance, assume that the requestedtype is a master group (such as the master group named “ABC-Global”). Asa result, and as indicated at 1408, the DAM program determines thedependency of the requested data item using both the dependency rule anda dependency map which relates different types of data item parametervalues to each other. In the particular example assumed, the parentitems determined for the requested data items are the two instances ofthe aggregated position data item that correspond to the groups named“ABC-Offshore” and “ABC-Domestic”, since these two groups belong to therequested master group “ABC-Global”.

A “dependency versioning” feature that may be implemented in connectionwith some embodiments of the DAM program will now be described withreference to FIGS. 9, 15 and 16. The dependency versioning featureeffectively permits an application program to select a dependency ruleto be applied by the DAM program in determining a parent data item oritems for a data availability request sent to the DAM program by theapplication program.

As previously described, FIG. 9 illustrates a dependency rulerelationship in which an aggregated position report data item 902 has asits parents a position data item 904 and a price data item 906. Forpresent purposes, this dependency rule relationship may be consideredversion 1 of the dependency rule for the aggregated position report dataitem.

FIG. 15 illustrates version 2 of the dependency rule relationship forthe aggregated position report data item 902. In the version 2dependency rule, data item 902 has only one parent, namely the positiondata item 904.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart that illustrates a process to implement thedependency versioning feature. At 1602, the DAM program receives from anapplication program a data availability request. It is assumed that thedata availability request specifies either version 1 or version 2 as thedependency rule to be applied by the DAM program in determining theparent data item or items for the requested data item. At 1604, the DAMprogram determines which version is specified by the data availabilityrequest. If version 1 was specified, then, at 1606, the DAM program usesthe dependency rule of FIG. 9 to determine the parent data items (inthis case the position data item 904 and the price data item 906) forthe requested aggregated position report data item 902.

However, in some instances, the application program may specify version2 as the dependency rule to be applied. For example, in the case of thereport 902, it may be necessary to reissue the report (e.g., to correctan error) some time after the original issuance of the report and at atime when the price data is no longer available. In such a case, theapplication program is able to specify the dependency rule version shownin FIG. 15 so that the report is issued without relying on theno-longer-available price data (for example, the re-issued report may befootnoted to indicate that price information is not provided). Asindicated at 1608, when version 2 is specified by the data availabilityrequest, the dependency rule illustrated in FIG. 15 is applied by theDAM program to determine the parent data item (in this case onlyposition data item 904) for the requested data item.

It should be understood that the two dependency rule versions shown inFIGS. 9 and 15 are only an example set of dependency rule versions, andthat many other sets of dependency rule versions may alternatively beemployed. The number of versions in a set of versions may be more thantwo.

FIG. 17 is a diagram that illustrates potential sequences of statuschanges for a data item in connection with the DAM program.

At 1702, an application program submits a data availability request tothe DAM program. At 1704, the DAM program assigns the status“unavailable” to the requested data item. If all the parents of therequested data item are “available” (1706), the DAM program changes thestatus of the requested data item to “runnable” (1708). If theapplication then successfully processes (1710) the data item, the DAMprogram changes the status of the data item to “available” (1712) (e.g.,after being so instructed by the application). Thereafter, if a parentof the data item becomes unavailable (1714), and if the data item hasbeen designated as “auto-rerunnable”, then the DAM program sets thestatus of the data item back to “unavailable” (1704). Consequently, ifthe unavailable parent becomes available again (1706), the data itemstatus may again be set to “runnable” (1708) and the data item may beautomatically run (processed) again by the application and then have itsstatus again changed to “available” (1712). If the processing of thedata item fails (1716) when its status is “runnable”, the status of thedata item is set to “failed” (1718). If, while in “failed” status 1716,a parent becomes unavailable, and if the data item has been designated“auto-rerunnable”, then the status of the data item is again set to“unavailable” (1704). If a parent of the data item becomes “unavailable”(1720) when the status of the data item is “runnable”, then the statusof the data item is again set to “unavailable” (1704).

If, while the status of a data item is “unavailable”, the wait-untilcondition is met 1722 (e.g., the deadline is reached), then the DAMprogram changes the status of the data item to “wait-runnable” (1724).If the application then successfully processes (1726) the data item, theDAM program changes the status of the data item to “wait-available”(1728). If, while the data item status is “wait-available”, all of itsparents become available (1730) and if the data item has been designatedas “auto-rerunnable”, then the DAM program again changes the status ofthe data item to “runnable” 1708, and the data item may be processedagain by the application.

If, while the status of the data item is “wait-runnable”, the processingof the data item by the application fails 1732, then the status of thedata item is set to “failed” (1734). If, while the status of the dataitem is “failed” 1734 or “wait-available” 1728, a parent of the dataitem becomes unavailable 1736, and if the data item has been designated“auto-rerunnable”, then the status of the data item is again set to“unavailable” (1704). If the application provides to the DAM program anindication 1738 that a data item is available, then the DAM program setsthe status of the data item accordingly (1712).

The above descriptions of processes that may be provided in accordancewith the invention is not intended to imply a fixed order of performingthe process steps. Rather, the process steps may be performed in anyorder that is practicable. For example, in the case of the process ofFIG. 3, some or all of the indications from application programs 302-2,302-3 and 302-4 that their respective data items are available may occurbefore or after the data availability request from application program302-1.

In some embodiments which call for data availability requests, the DAMprogram may in some cases be operable to automatically generate a dataavailability request for a data item that is a child of another dataitem for which a data availability request is received from anapplication program. In some embodiments, the DAM program is able togenerate a data availability request in cases where the DAM program isable to supply all parameters for the data availability request.

The present invention has been described in terms of several embodimentssolely for the purpose of illustration. Persons skilled in the art willrecognize from this description that the invention is not limited to theembodiments described, but may be practiced with modifications andalterations limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

1-11. (canceled)
 12. A method of operating a computer system, the methodcomprising: changing a status of a data item from unavailable toavailable; in response to said change of status, generating a reportthat requires availability of said data item; changing the status ofsaid data item from available to unavailable; again changing the statusof said data item from unavailable to available; and in response to saidsecond change of status of said data item from unavailable to available,again generating said report.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein bothof said generating steps are performed by said system automatically andwithout user input.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein said status ofsaid data item is stored in a database maintained by a data availabilitymanager software program.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein saidreport is generated by an application program that is in communicationwith said data availability manager software program.
 16. The method ofclaim 12, wherein each of said steps of generating said report includesgenerating a plurality of reports that require availability of said dataitem.
 17. A method of operating a computer system, the methodcomprising: receiving an indication that a first data item is availablefor processing; determining a second data item that is dependent forprocessing upon availability of the first data item; and changing astatus of the second data item from unavailable to ready for processing.18. The method of claim 17, wherein said determining includes accessingmapping data that indicates data items upon which the second data itemis dependent.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: prior tosaid determining step, storing said mapping data.
 20. A method ofoperating a computer system, the method comprising: changing a status ofa first data item from unavailable to ready for processing each timeeither one of two conditions is satisfied, a first one of saidconditions being that every data item upon which the first data itemdepends is available for processing, a second one of said two conditionsbeing that a time deadline has expired.